Music Part 1

Recently, one of my daughters asked to borrow my iPod while she went to the gym.  When she gave it back later, she said, "Mom, your taste in music is schizophrenic!"  Ok, so my iPod has current pop, Disney tunes, classical instrumental, novelty songs, oldies, religious music, Glee...  I love music!

Music can have a power effect in your home.   It can cause excitement, encourage sleep, bring peaceful feelings or make you laugh.  It can be used to teach and inspire.  Don't limit yourself or your family to just one type of music.  Experiment with different styles.  Sing lullabies to your babies and little ones.  Introduce teenagers to classical music (subtly, of course!).  Vary the CD's you listen to in your car.  Attend concerts and musical productions as a family.   You could even sing together.  I know, that's stretching it a bit  :) 

It's probably easier to introduce different styles of music when your children are young and not so influenced by peer pressure.  My children especially liked the Classical Kids CD's, a series of CD's  where a story is woven around a particular composer (Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Handel, and others) and his most famous works.  The stories are very engaging and entertaining, not boring or dry.  My kids listened to them frequently and I didn't realize how much they were actually learning about classical music until one day my three year old daughter walked into the living room, stopped and listened for a second, and said, "Sounds like Mozart but it's Vivaldi."  She was right.  The music playing on the CD was Vivaldi.